All Good Things Come To An End
by Sophie Temrer Rimmer-Artley
Summary: AU. Arnold J Rimmer aged sixteen makes a new friend, then loses him.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This fic is written purely because I've recently had my last week of normal school lessons before my compulsory education technically finishes *sob*, even though I'm going to sixth-form college in the autumn. Oh, and there's the small matter of GCSE's (damn it). So here's a little AU fic! Enjoy!**

"Oi, Bonehead!"

"Where you going, Bonehead?"

"He's trying to ignore us!"

Arnold Rimmer, aged sixteen, held his head high, desperately ignoring the taunts of the bullies as he walked past. This was his last day of compulsory education, and he was not going to let them ruin it. Unfortunately for him, the bullies had other ideas, and they ran after him, tearing at his blazer and laughing at him.

"Get off! Stop it!" Arnold yelled, trying to shake them off. One of them grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and he screamed, which made the boys laugh harder.

"Let's hang him from the toilet door guys!" one shouted.

"No! No! Stop!" Arnold wailed.

"OK, lay off 'im guys." came a voice with a thick Scouse accent.

"What's it to you, Dave?" one of the boys sneered.

"Just leave it, I said." the voice insisted. Arnold felt the hands let go and he fell with a thump into the grass of the playing field.

"Y'all righ'? Arnold, ain't it? Arnold Rimmeh?" Dave asked.

"Yes, that's me. Um... I suppose so." Arnold replied, getting to his feet. "Thanks... Dave, right? David Lister?"

"Yup. Don' mention it." he shrugged. "It's the last day. Nobody deserves tha' on their last day. Heck, scratch tha', nobody deserves it full stop. I've never liked 'em. Nasty pieces o' work they are."

"Thanks again."

"No worries man. Hakuna Matata."

Arnold raised an eyebrow. "_The Lion King_?"

Dave grinned. "Yeah. Good movie. One of Disney's finest. I cried so hard when Simba's dad died."

Arnold laughed. "Never had you pegged as a softie, Dave."

"Yeah, well, tha's the thing, innit? Sometimes ya spend the best years of ya life with people you never really know anything about."

Arnold considered this. "You're right. If you'd stopped those guys some time back in year seven, we could have been friends."

"S'pose we coulda." Dave agreed. "S'not too late though. S'never too late to make a friend."

Arnold smiled. "We don't have to go to lessons this morning, do we?"

"Nope." Dave replied, sitting down underneath the big tree at the side of the field.

Arnold sat down beside him, leaning against the trunk of the tree, and he felt a rush of gratitude towards David Lister, his saviour, his friend.

Several hours later, Arnold and Dave walked into the canteen together to eat lunch. Dave went and got a hot meal while Arnold took out a paper bag with sandwiches in.

"How can you stand to eat that? It's really unhealthy." Arnold said, wrinkling his nose at Dave's chicken curry. "And it smells horrible."

"It smells great! An' I just like it. Ain't important whether it's healthy or not." Dave grinned. "Sure you don' wanna try some?"

"No chance." Arnold laughed. "I'll stick to egg and cress sandwiches, thanks."

"Hey Bonehead!"

"Not again." Dave sighed. He looked at Arnold, who was now holding onto his sandwich so tightly he was leaving fingerprints in the bread. "It's OK man. I'll sort 'em out."

"No, don't. You don't know what they're like."

"What can they do? It's me last day in this dump." Dave insisted, rising from his chair. "Look 'ere. I dunno what ya problem is, but ya can all just smeg off an' leave Arnold alone, all righ'? He's done nothin' to you."

The four boys laughed.

"What are you, his mum?" the closest one to Dave sneered. "Or are you his boyfriend? That makes enough sense, Bonehead could never get a girl to go out with him."

"Ya wanna shut up, yeah?" Dave threatened.

"Try me." The boy picked up Dave's plate of curry and threw it in Arnold's face. Arnold gasped in shock, wiping curry and rice from his eyes as it dripped onto his blazer. Then he saw red, and he drew back a fist and punched the boy in the jaw. The boy yelled and crumpled to the floor.

"You're dead, Bonehead!"

The other three boys converged on Arnold, pinning him to the floor and tugging at his hair. He screamed and wriggled to get free, but they just held him tighter. Suddenly one boy stopped dead, turning around. Through the gap the boy was making, Arnold could just see Dave, armed with his egg and cress sandwiches, pelting them mercilessly at his tormentors. The three boys left Arnold on the floor and grabbed other people's food to fling back at Dave.

Then the shout went up: "FOOD FIGHT!"

Food went flying in every direction. Arnold was still on the floor when he suddenly saw a hand being offered to him.

"C'mon. Let's get outta here." said Dave. Arnold took Dave's hand and was hauled to his feet. Then the two teenagers turned around and walked out of the canteen, leaving behind total destruction, but not once looking back.

"That was some pretty serious stuff." Arnold said. He and Dave were sitting under the tree again.

"I know. Is ya head OK man?" Dave asked.

"It's fine. Nothing major." insisted Arnold. "Sorry about your lunch." he said, picking a stray grain of rice from his hair.

"It's no big. Was only a curry." Dave shrugged. "Your parents gonna get mad about the mess on your blazer?"

"Probably." Arnold sighed.

"Are they that bad?" Dave asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You have no idea."

Dave laughed, then suddenly sobered. "I ain't got parents. I'm an orphan. Live in the care home."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Arnold said.

"S'all right. Ya didn't know." Dave replied. "What ya doin over study leave?"

"Nothing much. Revision I suppose. Although I don't know why I bother, I know I'll fail. I'm useless at exams." Arnold said with a sigh. "You?"

"The same I guess. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless... you wanted to revise together sometimes? I don't mind where, yours, mine, out in the park... Sometimes it helps to have two heads instead of one." Dave suggested.

Arnold's face broke into a grin. "OK."

"Brutal." Dave said, returning the grin as the bell rang in the distance to signal the end of the day.

"Well. It's over." Arnold said reflectively. "Our last day in this hellhole."

"Feels good to be free." Dave laughed, getting up and stretching. "Guess we better get off home then."

"Yeah." Arnold got up too, watching as Dave dug around in his bag and pulled out a Sharpie pen. He grabbed Arnold's wrist and pushed the sleeve of his blazer up before scrawling his phone number on Arnold's arm.

"Call later. We'll go to the park or summat." Dave said.

"All right. I'll see you later then."

"Yep." Dave bounded off, and Arnold watched him go.

Just his luck to make a new friend on the last ever day of school...

The thought was bitter, but he couldn't help but smile.

"But who is this Dave, Arnold? You've never mentioned him before." Arnold's mother asked interrogatively as he stood in the kitchen.

"He's a friend from school, Mother." Arnold said exasperatedly for about the third time.

"Friends? Bonehead?" sniggered his elder brother Frank, walking past the kitchen. "That's a first."

Arnold turned crimson. "SMEG OFF!" he shouted, giving his brother the finger.

"Arnold! Don't swear at your brother!" his mum said. "You're definitely not going anywhere tonight for that behaviour!"

"Wh... but... that was Frank's fault!" Arnold sputtered. Frank retreated up the stairs, sticking his tongue out at Arnold as he went. "That's not fair, Mother!"

"Life isn't fair, dear."

"Well it certainly wasn't fair to me when it gave me you as a mum!" Arnold suddenly snapped.

"ARNOLD!"

"Well it's true! You're always all smiles and praise and comfort for Howard and John and Frank, and what recognition do I get? None! You don't care about me! You never have! You never even ask how my day at school was! If you asked that, perhaps you'd know about the four boys that have tormented me since day one at that awful school! You might know that they've torn up countless exercise books that belonged to me, and smashed up and thrown away all my best pens! You might know that today, if it hadn't been for Dave, you would have had to come to school and unhook me from the back of a toilet cubicle door! Or worse, you might even have had to take me to hospital with a bruised and bleeding scalp! But no. It's all right. I know you're too busy with the golden boys to care about me. But I'm leaving, Mother. I'm leaving tonight, and you can't stop me. I'm sixteen. I don't have to stay here anymore. And you can be certain that I won't be back." Arnold finished his outburst, breathless, flushed, and with tears in his eyes. He flew up the stairs, grabbed his suitcase, shoved as many clothes as he could manage into it, then emptied his satchel of his school books and put some of his precious things into it before grabbing the phone from the landing. He shrugged his blazer off and dialled the number. Dave answered on the first ring.

"_Yeah?"_

"Dave. It's Arnold. I've just had a huge row with my mum. I told her I was leaving home."

"_Come to the care home."_

"I'll be there in ten." Arnold hung up, put the phone back, and opened his window, dropping out first his suitcase, then his satchel. Finally he grabbed his duvet, dropping it to make a cushion, and clambered out of his window, hanging by his hands from the sill for a few seconds before eventually getting up the courage to drop onto his duvet. His ankle jarred as he landed, but he got up and grabbed his things, heading off down the front garden.

"So you told her about them boys?" Dave asked Arnold.

"Yeah. She barely batted an eyelid. I'll admit I didn't give her much of a chance to do so, but still..."

"Don't worry man. I woulda done the same in your place." Dave assured him.

"You think they'll let me stay here?" Arnold asked.

"They'll probably have to call ya parents." Dave told him. Arnold sighed.

"I knew it. I'm going to get dragged back again, kicking and screaming."

"Ya never know. Just gotta hope for the best." Dave said cheerfully.

"Are you always this optimistic?"

"Nah, usually I'm even more chirpy."

Despite the situation, the two boys laughed, instantly lightening the mood.

"You're bleeding, man." Dave suddenly said, pointing to Arnold's arm. Arnold looked at his arm, and saw a graze along his forearm.

"I guess that happened when I climbed out of the window." he said. "I better wash the blood off."

"No, wait a sec!" Dave said, rummaging under his bed and pulling out a knife, carefully making a cut in the tip of his thumb.

"What the smeg are you doing?" Arnold asked. Dave leaned over and put his thumb over the graze on Arnold's arm, leaving it long enough for the blood to mix.

"There. Now we're blood brothers. And I swear to ya man, I won't let 'em take ya home." Dave said.

"You really do?"

"I promise."

**Yay! Happiness for the lovely Arnold and Dave (aka, Rimsy and Listy)! Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Expect the unexpected this chapter! Pieces stolen from actual Red Dwarf episodes will be written in underlined type (though they will only be approximations). When we reach the 'three million years later' mark, I will revert to calling them Rimmer and Lister in the narrative, and it will be AU because Rimmer has his hard light drive from there. Enjoy!**

"And I hope you understand that you'll never be allowed to see this Dave character again. He's a terrible influence on you." Arnold's father ranted as he crossed the threshold with a dejected Arnold in tow. "Now get to your room and stay there until dinner!"

"Yes Father." Arnold said quietly, walking upstairs with his suitcase and satchel. He closed the door behind him, and was suddenly consumed with anger. He lashed out at the things on his table, sending them flying, then upended the table with one sweep of his hand. He then leaned against the door and sank to the floor, crying with all he had.

"He swore he wouldn't let them take me home." Arnold sobbed. "He promised..."

_Approx. nineteen years later, the Jupiter Mining Corps ship Red Dwarf..._

"Here are your quarters Lister, you'll be sharing with Rimmer here." Todhunter said. Dave Lister stared in open-mouthed shock at his new bunkmate and old friend Arnold J. Rimmer. "I'll leave you two to get acquainted." Todhunter added, striding out of the room.

"Arnold...?"

"It's Rimmer, thank you. And I'll be referring to you as Lister."

"Come on, it's me! It's Dave, ya best pal!" said Dave with a grin.

"Yes, of course, you filthy, lying, promise-breaking smeghead!" Arnold snapped. Dave's face fell. "You promised they wouldn't take me home, and you just stood by and let them drag me away! We were blood brothers! Did it mean nothing to you? That week I spent at the care home was the happiest week of my life, and then you just watched out of the window as I was forced to go home to the family from hell! I hate you! I never wanted to see you again, but I suppose I have no choice now. So I'm Rimmer, and you're Lister."

Dave was stunned. "Tha' was years and years ago, man!"

"Yes, well, some scars never heal." Arnold said bitterly, his eyes filling with tears as he pulled up his shirt to reveal a jagged line of raised flesh across his stomach. "My father did that. The day he brought me home, he went mad at dinner, and threw a carving-knife at me. He almost killed me, and you let me go home with him."

Dave's eyes began to tear up at this. "I... I'm sorry..." he whispered.

"You're 'sorry'? So your supposed best friend was nearly killed by his own father, and all you can say is that you're 'sorry'? Well, _I'm_ sorry, but that's not going to cancel out what you did!" Arnold shouted. "I'll leave you to settle in, shall I? Bottom bunk's mine." he said curtly, sweeping haughtily out of the room.

Dave stared after him, feeling terrible.

"I'm so sorry Arnold..."

_Three million years later, the Jupiter Mining Corps ship Red Dwarf..._

"Why Rimmeh? Why'd ya have to bring him back?" Lister ranted to the ship computer Holly. "Why not Chen or Selby? Hermann Goering woulda been better than Rimmeh. Sure, he was a drug-crazed transvestite, but at least we coulda gone dancing!"

"I brought Arnold back because he's the best person to keep you sane." Holly replied.

"Oh, crap!" Lister cursed. There was a whirring sound, and a toilet appeared from the wall. "Not you!"

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." the toilet said. "See you later."

"How do ya judge tha' Hol?" Lister asked.

"Arnold was the person you shared the most sentences with." Holly explained.

"Yeah, but half of them were me telling 'im to smeg off." Lister said. "And the other half were 'im putting me on report for telling 'im to smeg off."

"Nevertheless, he's the one I have to bring back."

"But I can't stand being around 'im all the time knowing what I did to 'im! I let 'is parents take 'im home, and they threw a knife at 'im! What sort of a friend does tha' make me?" Lister asked rhetorically.

"Well, far be it from me to judge, but I'd say not a very good one."

"Hol-ly!"

"I'm sorry Dave, sorry." Holly said. "I'll leave you alone with your thoughts." He disappeared off the screen, and Lister buried his face in his hands and began to sob loudly.

"Listy?"

Lister looked up through tear-blurred eyes and saw the fuzzy outline of Rimmer.

"Smeg off." Lister mumbled.

"What's wrong?" Rimmer asked, a touch of concern in his voice that made Lister feel even worse.

"I'M SORRY, ALL RIGHT! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT BEFORE YA REALISE I MEAN IT?" Lister wailed before taking a deep breath and composing himself. "I'd give anything to turn back time and stop ya dad from taking ya home. I just want ya to forgive me." Lister dropped his face back into his hands. Rimmer hesitated for a moment, then grabbed his light bee, switched to hard light, put an arm around Lister and whispered the words his distraught bunkmate was longing for.

"Apology accepted, Lister. I forgive you."

They both cried long and hard throughout that evening and into the night, wrapped in an embrace that really could only be described as...

Brotherly.

**Quite a short chapter, but I did tell you to expect the unexpected! Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: This next chapter is set during the series gap between Parallel Universe (Red Dwarf II) and Backwards (Red Dwarf III). Warning: Close lemon encounters of the Listy/Rimsy kind. Enjoy!**

Rimmer stared admiringly at Lister's twin sons Jim and Bexley. Even he had to admit that Lister had done well. The little rascals were kind of lovable.

"They look just like you." Rimmer commented to the proud parent. Lister, although he was still in pain, couldn't help but grin.

"Wanna hold one of 'em?" Lister asked.

"Um... OK." Rimmer said warily. "Which one?"

"This one." Lister said, holding out the one in his left arm to Rimmer. "Tha's Jim. Or... is it Bexley? Nope, it's definitely Jim."

Rimmer laughed. "I think that anaesthetic's messed with your brain, not that it was exactly all there to begin with." he said, cradling Jim in his arms. "Hello there Jim. I'm your Uncle Arnold." he whispered, and his amazement was apparent as Jim reached out a tiny hand and grasped Rimmer's finger. Bexley noticed the attention Jim was giving Rimmer and began to try and squirm out of Lister's arms, wanting a cuddle with 'Uncle Arnold' too. Rimmer's smile was wide and genuine, and Lister saw this and smiled too. Only a few hours old, and already they liked and trusted Rimmer as much as he did.

"Hey, Rimmeh, I was wonderin'... I know you're already kinda like their uncle, but... do ya wanna be their godfather?" Lister asked. "I mean, obviously if ya don' wanna, I'll ask Cat or Kryters, but... I'd prefer it to be you."

Rimmer looked up at Lister. "I'd be honoured, Listy."

_Somewhere in a parallel universe..._

Deb Lister paced the floor anxiously. Had everything gone all right? Was her child OK?

"Everything all right?" Arlene asked, standing behind Deb.

"Yeah, fine. Just wondering. Wondering if Dave and Arnold managed it."

"I'm sure they did."

"What's happening, babes?" Hilly said, appearing on the screen.

"Nothing. Any news, Hilly?" Arlene asked.

"We're getting an incoming transmission."

"Punch it up, Hil." Deb said. Hilly's face disappeared and was replaced with the face of Dave Lister.

"Hi girls. Ready to meet your new crew members?"

"Crew _members_? Plural?" Deb asked in confusion.

"Yeah. Ya twin sons Jim an' Bexley Lister." Dave grinned.

"Twins! I don't believe it!" Deb exclaimed, laughing as she hugged Arlene.

"Stop hugging me, you goit!" Arlene protested, wriggling out of Deb's arms. "You reek of vindaloo."

"Come on over guys!" Deb said with a smile.

_About an hour later, safely back in their own dimension..._

"Well, tha's it. They're gone." Lister said sadly, staring at the photo he had from when they had seen the future echoes. "I'm not gonna see 'em grow up, or say their firs' words, or learn to walk. They're gone."

Rimmer could sense Lister's distress, and he put an arm around him comfortingly. "Hey hey hey. It's OK. They're where they belong now." he whispered.

"I know, I know. I only wish I could have more than jus' a photograph, y'know?" Lister said with a sigh, subconsciously leaning into Rimmer.

"Lister, you _do _have more than that. You have the memories of the past nine months, and you have the satisfaction that you got through it."

"Yeah, but I didn't do it alone." Lister smiled. "I had you to help me. So thanks."

"Don't mention it, Listy. I'm always here to help." Rimmer replied, smiling back. Something in that smile made Lister's heart ache.

_What the smeg? _he asked himself mentally, shaking Rimmer's arm off his shoulders.

"I... I'm gonna go take my painkillers, all righ'?" Lister mumbled, heading off down the corridor.

"All right. I'll see you later." Rimmer said. When he was sure Lister was out of earshot, he added in a whisper:

"I love you, Dave."

Later that night, Lister couldn't sleep. He lay staring at the ceiling, wondering why he had felt so strange when he had looked at Rimmer earlier. He'd never felt that for Rimmer before, whatever it was. Then he realised he was wrong. He had felt something like that for Rimmer. He remembered it as though it were yesterday...

_Some three million and nineteen years ago..._

"Come on Arnold, jus' have a little bit to drink!"

"No way! I can't stand lager."

It was early evening, and Arnold and Dave were sitting in the park with a six-pack of cheap lager given to Dave by one of the older boys in the care home. Dave had already downed his first and second cans and was starting on his third, whereas Arnold was refusing to have one.

"Go on, jus' a can!" Dave laughed, pushing one at Arnold.

"Ugh, fine." Arnold sighed, opening it and taking a sip. It tasted bitter and vile and Arnold found himself gagging. He looked up to face Dave, who was grinning madly. "Shut up, it's not funny."

"Course not." Dave said with a snigger.

"Shut up." Arnold said again, forcing himself to drink more of the lager with a scrunched up expression and flared nostrils.

"Look, if ya hate it tha' much, don' drink it, man." Dave told him, finishing his third can and reaching for the one Arnold was holding. "Smeg, ya jus' drank the whole thing, Arnold!" he exclaimed.

"I know." Arnold said proudly, almost giggling as he reached for another can. Dave swatted Arnold's hand.

"Bad idea, man. You're already tipsy after one can."

"You're not my mum, Dave!" Arnold slurred, grabbing the can, opening it and downing it in one.

"Smeggin' 'ell..." Dave sighed. He watched as Arnold grabbed a third can and downed it. After half a fourth can, Arnold gave up and lay back in the grass.

"Come join me, Davey-boy." Arnold said, pulling Dave down beside him. The two of them stared up at the sky for a long moment, neither one speaking. Then Dave broke the silence.

"Do ya think you're gonna miss 'em? Ya family?"

Arnold considered this, then rolled onto his side to look at Dave. "They're not my family. Not anymore. You're the only thing I've had that's been anything like family, or friendship. You're the only person who's ever cared about me." Suddenly Arnold grabbed Dave's hand, fear filling his voice. "I don't want to lose you, Dave."

"You won't." Dave assured him.

Neither one of them knew quite who started it, but the next moment they were kissing, their lips and tongues moving together as if they were made to fit. Arnold gasped as Dave leaned down and kissed his neck, licking and sucking on the skin there. Arnold moved his hands into Dave's hair and tugged hard, making Dave moan.

An hour later, Dave and Arnold were in bed together, sated in every way possible, and Dave began to worry that Arnold would regret what had happened. As if to punctuate his thought, Arnold snored lightly. Dave bit back a snigger, and he pressed a kiss to Arnold's forehead before he slipped out of the bed and back into his own. With any luck Arnold would forget the whole thing and just remember getting drunk. With that hope foremost in his mind, Dave fell asleep, his mind filled with blissful dreams of Arnold and the sensation of grass against his bare back.

_Back in the present, on Red Dwarf in deep space..._

Lister sighed as the memory of that night had an expected effect on him, although it was slightly annoying at that precise moment in time. Rimmer hadn't remembered a thing, and Lister just told him that he'd fallen asleep and Lister had carried him home. Rimmer had smiled and thanked him, and that was the moment when Lister had experienced that awful aching in his heart. Maybe it meant that what had happened wasn't just drunken fun. Maybe he really felt something for Rimmer. The more he considered it, the more he felt it to be true. He had fallen for Rimmer. His trousers were now uncomfortably tight, and he got up and scrawled a note before walking rather awkwardly out of the room.

Rimmer awoke at about seven, and immediately noticed Lister's absence.

"Listy?" he asked, puzzled. Then he saw the note on the table. He picked it up and read it aloud.

_Dear Rimsy,_

_Sorry I'm not here, I had to... sort myself out. Come and meet me in the cinema._

_Listy._

Rimmer smirked. He could all-too-easily guess what Lister had been sorting out. He scrunched up the note and threw it at the bin, where it missed its target abysmally, then left to find Lister. As he walked into the cinema, he could see Lister's head popping up above his usual seat.

"Hey. Took ya long enough to wake up this morning." Lister teased him.

"Ha ha." Rimmer said, though he couldn't help grinning. "What's all this about, Listy?"

"Jus' thought we could catch a movie. We never seem to do that." Lister smiled. "Come join me, man."

Rimmer sat in the seat next to Lister. "So what are we watching?"

"Some Like It Hot." Lister replied. "It's got Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in it as cross-dressing jazz musicians, and Marilyn Monroe as a singer."

"Sounds... interesting." Rimmer said doubtfully.

Lister laughed. "It sure is. I musta seen this a million times."

The two of them settled back in their seats to watch the film. To his surprise, Rimmer found himself really enjoying the madcap humour and the ridiculous situations the two men disguised as women managed to get themselves into. As the film drew to a close, Rimmer suddenly felt an arm sliding around his shoulders. He knew it must be Lister, and yet didn't mind. He turned his head slowly, and he saw Lister's face just centimetres from his own.

"Rimmeh... I... um... y'know... er..." Lister stammered.

"Lister?"

"Hmm?"

"Shut up." Rimmer said with a smile, pressing his lips to Lister's. The kiss only lasted a few moments, but it could have been forever and the two of them wouldn't have noticed. When they broke the kiss, they were both panting for breath, and they just sat staring at each other.

"So ya do care?" Lister gasped.

"Of course I do, you smeghead." Rimmer grinned. "I have since we were sixteen and shared that... experience, after drinking cheap lager in the park..."

"Ya said ya didn't remember tha'!" Lister said in shock.

"I know. I was worried you might not want anything more, so I pretended to forget. I've treasured that memory since the day I left the care home. It was what kept me going. But you never even tried to visit..."

Lister noticed a tear slipping from the corner of Rimmer's eye, and reached up and wiped it away softly.

"Hey, don' cry man." Lister said quietly. "I'm here now." He pulled Rimmer into his arms and held him close, stroking his tightly curled hair. "Does your hair _ever _go straight?"

"Not even close." Rimmer sniffled. "I get it from my mother's side of the family."

"You'd make a great hippy if ya grew it." Lister smiled.

"Where did that pearl of wisdom suddenly come from?" Rimmer laughed softly. Lister laughed with him.

"Don' really know. But you with long hair... nah, it wouldn't look right, man." Lister said, running his hands through Rimmer's hair as he leaned close and they kissed again. "You're wonderful jus' the way ya are."

"Really? Even if I'm not Kochanski? Even if I'm... a man?"

The final line of the film answered Rimmer's question for Lister.

"Well, nobody's perfect."

**Yay! Some Like It Hot is one of my favourite films, it's totally epic, and you should watch it! Review please!**

**P.S. This will be my last update on any of my fics until the 23****rd**** June because I am on temporary hiatus due to GCSE revision. Sorry everyone, and I'll see you on the 23****rd****!**


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